


The Mad Tea Party

by llenclyen



Series: Roomates [1]
Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, James Bond (Movies), Oz - L. Frank Baum, Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 14:00:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1713197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llenclyen/pseuds/llenclyen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This work combines characters from several well known works of fiction and places them in late 1952 London.  Historical elements of that time will be used, but this is mostly a work to examine these characters further and show some ideas on how they might develop.  This is the first chapter, so most of the characters that will be important to this work are introduced here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mad Tea Party

Susan was waiting at the Red Rose Pub. It was after hours, but she was still on the clock as her supervisor had told her to conduct an informal debriefing on a Lieutenant Bond. Bond was part of Her Majesty's Royal Navy and had only gotten in on shore leave the day before and insisted on getting a drink. Susan had acquiesced, as she was putting in overtime hours, and being away from the office a bit early was a nice change of pace.  
She had heard that Lt. Bond was an attractive, charming man, with excellent manners. His file said that he was half Scottish, and placed him as two years her junior. She had almost considered dressing as if for an outing, they would be at a pub after all and she hadn't gone out in over two years, but her professionalism prevailed and she had dressed more sensibility.  
She had also heard from some of the other girls that Lt. Bond, was an incorrigible womanizer.  
She was dressed in a grey lady's suit with nylons and subdued mascara. Her long black hair was tied back in a bun and she sat with a confident straight back. While the pub was not exactly rough, it was not a place she would usually be at, certainly not alone. She had taken a deep breath before going in, she did not like adventures, but that did not mean she wasn't up to the task. Once she walked through the door, she acted as if she were a queen in her castle, no harm would come to her because she decreed it so. And so, no harm came to her, though a few of the patrons noticed her stride.  
She saw a pack of men gathered around a radio. Preston North was playing Stoke City and there was quite a row going on amongst them all. Susan looked closer at the group and saw that an acquaintance of hers, was in the crowd. That wasn't too surprising, the woman did spend a lot of time around army men and so sports were sure to rub off on her. What was surprising was that there was another girl there, younger than Susan. She was dressed like one of the men but those blonde curls betrayed her sex. She was easily the most rowdy of the group, probably in an attempt to fit in, thought Susan.  
The bell to the pub rang and Susan turned her eyes towards the door, but it was not her Lieutenant. Another girl entered, with two men...no wait a moment... was that...?  
Mycroft?  
He was a senior analyst at MI-6, though Susan did not work under him. They shared a warm professional relationship and had even played a game of chess together. He had won, but not before she made him sweat a bit.  
But, Mycroft? In a pub? With a woman?  
After blinking her eyes several times she felt certain that it was indeed him, same boring old clothes, same stiff old Mycroft. Susan cleared her throat and waved at him while smiling sweetly. He turned, flushed crimson, and turned back to his lady friend.  
The other man with Mycroft must have been his brother. They moved in much the same way, stiff, inelegant, and as if constantly distracted. The brother would have had the better dress sense were it not for that ridiculous hat of his. Susan saw Mycroft wince when he looked at that hat. She knew that their relationship was somewhat antagonistic, not unlike what she had once had with her sister. A wistful moment passed over her, and she let it go. She was close enough to hear some of the conversation that Mycroft and his brother were having with the girl.  
“I'm so happy you could come to my tea party.”  
“The pleasure is all ours.”  
“You can't be serious, she isn't really-”  
“Oh my dear brother, I assure you, she is.”  
“Well I suppose we can start without the other two, they will be here shortly.” Said the girl.  
Susan would have called her beautiful if she were not so unkempt. Her blond hair was a frightful mess and her clothes hadn't seen an iron in some time. There was dirt on her face and hands, and her manner was similar to that of the brothers. While they did walk with a distracted air, the younger brother, at least was now looking at her with his full attention, with an intensity that Susan had seen when wolves eye their prey. Mycroft looked mostly as if her were searching for an escape, or at least for a way to become invisible to Susan. He would be so very cross when she told others that he had been out to a pub, with a woman. The girl though, was distracted in a different way. While the brothers would analyze all of the information they could observe, this girl seemed to be looking at things that just were not there.  
“Who are you waiting for?” Asked the brother.  
“The Knave of Hearts of course and the White Rabbit, late as always. The Mock Turtle, White Queen and Red Queen are here already.  
“And, who are we?” Asked Mycroft, with a sardonic tone.  
“You don't remember?”  
“If you could kindly tell us.”  
“Why you're the Caterpillar and the Gryphon.”  
At the mention of 'White Queen', Susan scanned the room quickly and reached for her purse, but did not see her nemesis anywhere.  
“She's dead, she's dead, she can't hurt you anymore. They are all gone, they can't come here anymore.” She had to control her breathing again and this time it was her turn to blush when Mycroft looked her way. She had just about regained her composure when the door opened again.  
“Here's the Knave, now.”  
He was dressed in his officer's uniform and moved like a lion, instantly claiming all he could see as his, wearing the scenery like a fine cloak. He met Susan's eyes and came to sit at her table. He was tall with broad shoulders and black hair. His eyes were like ice and pierced through her as swiftly as arrow. Susan could see why the other girls liked him, he was easy on the eyes, his stride and presence commanded attention without effort. Had she been any other girl he would have made her weak in the knees.  
But she wasn't any other girl. She had seen his like before. Oh they were charming, fun, and they had wonderful eyes, but she had matched gazes with one who could look into her soul and no one would take her in so easily after that. She knew Lt. Bond for what he was, an outstanding man, perhaps, but not a tame one. And certainly not more than any other man.  
“Lt. Bond, I presume?”  
“Call me James, please. And you are?”  
“Ms. Pevensie, shall we order our drinks?”  
The trick to dealing with a man like Lt. Bond, was to never give him what he wanted. While she certainly had no intentions towards him, though his accent was charming, it wouldn't hurt to establish some ground rules as it were. They were business associates and nothing more. To her, he was Lt. Bond, not James, and she was Ms. Pevensie, not Susan. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Mycroft staring at the girl with something like horror and astonishment on his face, his mouth open. His brother was smirking at him. It was good to see some color in Mycroft though, he was so dreary much of the time, a little excitement would do him good.  
Lt. Bond had ordered a double vodka martini while Susan sipped at a cider. He leaned forward and kept his eyes on her, though she had the distinct impression that he was monitoring the entire room. She made a note of that as her superiors were specifically looking at approaching Lt. Bond to work as an agent for MI 6. They were nearly ready to make a final decision.  
“On your latest assignment you discovered a discrepancy with the artillery ammunition on your ship, is that correct?”  
“Yes, we were missing two pallets of shells and had not taken any action that would warrant their disappearance.”  
“And how did you come to realize this?”  
“During our downtime I engaged the quartermaster in a friendly game of poker. The game took place where the spare shells would be stowed. I had remembered seeing the pallets there earlier then, after we had been at port and were returning, I noticed they were gone.”  
“Did you report this to your commanding officer?”  
“Not as such. I saw him speaking with someone while in port who looked rather disreputable so I thought it best to contact MI 6”.  
“Lt. Bond, it sounds like you are accusing a member of the Royal Navy of treason.”  
“I am merely keeping your agency abreast of the situation.”  
Susan was now quite certain that Lt. Bond was proficient with use of his peripheral vision as his eyes hadn't wavered. She glanced up at him and saw the barest hint of a smile. Cheeky bastard.  
“Well Her Majesty's Secret Service does thank you for what paltry help you have given, but unless you can provide us with something more substantial, I will have to give a weak report to my superiors.”  
She was writing down her notes and had barely changed her tone at all. He was a flirt, but she had easily deflated such attempts before. He chuckled then dropped a man's ring on the table in front of her. It looked like someone had attempted to make an octopus into a rather crude signet. There was also some blood on the ring.  
“The man my commander was speaking with had an unfortunate accident, which I helped him with. He said something about a spectre and that he was sad that he would not be able to take a trip to Argentina. My commander did mention seeing the sights in South America a time or two and seemed to have several fond memories of the tropics.”  
This was the Bond that MI 6 was looking for. True there was room for improvement but he had initiative, knew how to keep secrets, and was attentive to details. A fine start for a field agent. Stumbling on to what appeared to be a smuggling operation within the Royal Navy with, quite possibly, former Nazis on the receiving end, was enough to place Lt. Bond on the top of the list of potential candidates. But there was no point in letting him know that. The boy was arrogant and Susan felt that he could stand to learn some humility. She kept her face a mask of unattached interest.  
“This is, adequate, Lt. Bond. Her Majesty's Secret thanks you and we will contact you should we desire your rough talents.”  
Bond looked perplexed and was about to say something, when the door opened and a stunning woman walked in.  
She wore a long, ocean blue dress which billowed with the wind. The dress accentuated her features. She had a body that, while beautiful, was used to physical labor. Her dark hair was in a french braid and she wore a long coat and carried a large olive bag. She had very red lips, and silver shoes both of which seemed somewhat out of place with the rest of her outfit. She appeared a bit confused, as if she wasn't entirely certain where she was. Her eyes glanced towards the radio and after hearing the announcement of a new score in the game, she let out a deep sigh of relief and walked towards the bar.  
“Wonderful, the White Rabbit has arrived.” The girl with Mycroft and his brother said.  
Mycroft and his brother both eyed the new arrival then turned back to each other.  
“She can't be 'that' Alice, it is not possible. Besides, the woman who came in looks nothing like a rabbit.'  
“I admit there are some discrepancies, but surely it must drive you mad to see her have something like foresight.”  
“Foresight! Preposterous! I haven't seen her demonstrate such an ability at all.”  
“No? Then what about that thing she said about the naval officer over there?”  
“Conjecture only, it proves nothing.”  
The Holmes brothers continued their bickering and 'Alice' seemed to enjoy their company even though they were mostly ignoring her for the moment. Lt. Bond had placed all of his focus on the new woman, so much so that it took awhile for him to bring his awareness back to anything else. Susan noted that in her assessment as such a lapse of attention could be quite fatal in the line of work that he may come to pursue. He finally came out of it.  
“That, is a magnificent view.”  
“I suppose. Is there any other information you would like to bring to the attention of Her Majesty's Secret?”  
“Well I do seem be short of company for dinner on Thursday.”  
“How unfortunate.”  
“I don't suppose you have any recommendations?”  
Susan was about to recommend a particularly nasty restaurant with absolutely appalling food that had recently been the subject of a sanitation scandal when the girl with Mycroft cried out in a loud and cheerful voice.  
“Change places!”  
And suddenly, the pub burst into chaos as the crowd around the radio started into a row.  
“It was a draw, no one scored!”  
“Bollucks! The ref was clearly for Preston you old bag!”  
“You're just sorry because your team lost!”  
Susan had never seen her acquaintance become this upset before. In fact she was quite surprised that the woman could be violent at all. But apparently as an army nurse and sister to two brothers she did have a temper and could fight. The younger woman who she was having the argument with was thrown on the floor but quickly recovered. They both shrieked at each other and began to grapple. Some of the men were egging them on while others began their own aggressions.  
“This crowd has gotten a little rough Ms. Pevensie, perhaps we should find a more suitable atmosphere?”  
Lt. Bond was incorrigible, but also quite unflappable as well. The latter at least was a good trait.  
Susan stood and moved toward the door, making it quite plain that she did not need his help to avoid being ruffled. She paid their bill with government money, dodged a flying bottle, and allowed him to hold the door for her.  
“Thank you for your time Lt. Bond, I will submit your report to MI6 in the morning.”  
He smiled at her in a way reminiscent of Edmund when he had thought up something wicked. She was afraid that, by showing that the row hadn't affected her in the slightest, she hadn't unsettled him but might have, inadvertently, made herself more attractive to him. The poor dear would be running up against a wall.  
“I never got your recommendation for Thursday dinner.”  
“How unfortunate. Good day Lt. Bond.”  
“Good evening Ms. Pevensie.”  
On that note, they parted ways.

********************

Alice was having a marvelous time.  
She had met the Caterpillar and the Gryphon for the first time in weeks, though they looked different. They were both quite stuffy, so that is why she took them to the flower garden, she knew it would be fun there. She had met the Gryphon earlier and had helped him choose a hat. You were all but naked if you did not wear a hat. Alice didn't necessarily mind being naked, but it wasn't proper. The Caterpillar had refused a hat, it was a lovely fez, and Alice was a bit cross with him.  
They had all left the flower garden when the two queens began fighting, it had been a long time since Alice had seen them do that. Perhaps the Knave of Hearts had stolen tarts again, it seemed he was showing something that he had stolen to the Mock Turtle. It was quite curious to her why the Mock Turtle and the Caterpillar didn't say hello to each other, it was clear they knew the other was there.  
“Sherlock, where did you find this woman?”  
“She works in a fashion shop, selling hats. I was investigating a case and needed advice on some fashion.”  
“So she's the one that convinced you to wear that awful thing.”  
“It is not awful, gryphons' must always have a crest, he had lost his. Certainly you know that?”  
Gryphon looked rather smugly at the Caterpillar. In turn he looked distasteful.  
“Well what do you plan on doing with her?”  
“I haven't decided. Her employer thinks she's mad, but she is quite a good at selling hats.”  
“I would beg to differ.”  
“Certainly you would, however sales of hats has tripled at that shop since she started working there. Our little mad hatter is a curiosity that I find intriguing.”  
“I'm not the Mad Hatter, I'm Alice. We look very different.”  
“Of course Alice, I am sorry I misspoke.”  
“It's quite alright, from up in the sky I imagine many people look the same to you.”  
“Sherlock, coming back to the matter at hand, what do you want me to do with this woman?”  
“Oh, nothing dear brother, just admit that she is that Alice, and see to it that she is kept out of any institutions.”  
“I refuse to admit anything, but you have my word that I will see to it that so long as she is not a danger to herself or others no one will take your distraction to an institution.”  
“Thank you brother, now... Alice, where are you going?”  
“Cheshire wants to show me something, it was nice having tea with you Gryphon.”  
Alice would have to pay the Mad Hatter a visit soon. He had her tea pot and she would need that back. The Mock Turtle and White Queen always needed some cheering up and the Red Queen and White Rabbit were a bit high strung. Perhaps if she invited them all for tea they would get along better.  
******

Lyra was sore. That Preston fan had been outright vicious in her attack. Lyra was certain to have bruises tomorrow, probably even a black eye.  
“Well that's what you get for picking on a goose,” said Pantalaimon.  
Pantalaimon was her daemon, or a manifestation of her soul. Lyra had come from a world, similar to this one, about six years ago. In her world everyone could see their own daemon as well as those of the people around them. Here she was the only one that could see or hear the daemons of others. It didn't even seem like most people knew what their own daemon looked like. Lyra had learned to be careful of when she spoke to Pan.  
“How was I to know she would hit so hard?”  
“Geese always react violently when cornered. You called her such horrible names and-”  
“Shut up Pan! Ow. Where do you suppose she comes from anyway?” Lyra winced as they limped back to her lodgings.  
“How would I know? It's not like we've met anyone like ourselves since you used that knife.” Pan, who had the form of a pine martian, was riding on her shoulder and licking a sore spot.  
“I didn't mean it like that, but it's not often you meet a woman who likes football enough to bash you about it.”  
“You think she could become a friend, don't you?”  
“Of course not! She's too old. And she cheers for Preston of all teams!”  
“Well from what she was wearing I think she's a nurse, and if she served in the war that might be where she picked up how to fight.”  
“I suppose you're right, she is old enough for it. She might also have brothers which could do the trick as well. There were some interesting people in there though, did you see their daemons?”  
“Yes, I haven't seen many panthers. And that one eagle.”  
“Did you recognize what that one was who was sitting with the raven and the owl?”  
“I have never seen that before, maybe they are from somewhere else. At any rate that daemon was going around in circles and kept saying something about 'mome raths'.”  
“Well, maybe you should try to find them again tomorrow. I have work.”  
“Out with them again tomorrow?”  
“Litigation involving a trade dispute.”  
“What fun.”  
“I like being a paralegal. It is exciting work and lets me use my wits.”  
“It's not like our earlier adventures.”  
At this point a goose landed in front of them and looked directly at Pantalaimon.  
“Hey, your that lady's daemon! I mean soul.” Pan, like Lyra, had learned to use this world's terms as daemon was an entirely different term in this world. The bird looked puzzled by the term but continued on.  
“Yes, my human would like it if you would stop walking forward. She feels quite sorry about the whole incident and would like to make amends.”  
“You pecked me on the head!”  
“And you tried to pin my wings. At any rate, much as I detest it, my human feels it is proper for all of us to try to get along. She right behind us and will offer treatment.”  
The goose was correct and soon the nurse called out them.  
“Hello! Please stop! I'm sorry for what happened back at the pub! Pleas let me help you.”  
Lyra and Pan turned around and Lyra could see, with some degree of satisfaction, that her adversary was sporting a few scratches on her cheek.  
“What do you want?”  
The woman, who must have been a decade older than Lyra, looked at her sheepishly.  
“Look, I behaved quite badly back there. I didn't mean to get so upset with you. I'm a nurse and my clinic isn't too far, I would like to get you something for the bruising.”  
Lyra was stunned. This woman was taking all of the blame for the incident when she knew, and Pan reminded her, that she had in fact brought some of this on herself. After a moment she spoke to the woman.  
“It's nothing. Thank you, I'll go. Where did you learn to fight like that? And why would you root for Preston of all teams?”  
In a combination of both anger and embarrassment the woman turned crimson and puffed up a bit, then let the air back out.  
“I have two brothers and have worked with many boys over the years. Learning how to fight became a necessity as some of them simply won't listen to reason until after they have be clocked over the head. As far as my...enthusiasm for Preston, I received some of my clinical training there. ”  
“And they are the best team and one the boys she knows plays on it,” said the goose who had waddled back to the nurse's side.  
Lyra ignored the obviously faulty reasoning of the goose. She did agree that sometimes boys required a strong hand before a kind word, she just had not thought of herself as needing the same treatment. Still it was nice to meet a woman who knew how to fight and shared her love of football, even if it was for the wrong team.  
“I see. Thank you for your help. My name is Lyra Belacqua, and you are Nurse...?”  
The woman blushed a little.  
“It's a silly name. Darling, Nurse Darling, but everyone calls me Wendy.”


End file.
